Hartford County Home Sales and Pre Listing Cleaning Demand
very spring, I notice Hartford County home sales on our own calendar before I read about them anywhere. In late winter the calls are mostly about green siding or a gutter that spilled over. Then, around March, more callers open with the same line: “We are putting the house on the market.” Some are sellers. […]
Newington’s Housing Stock: Why Mid Century Homes Dominate Wash Demand
Last spring we pulled up to a cape on a quiet side street near Mill Pond Park. I had guessed the decade before I was out of the truck. Steep roof, two dormers, a small concrete stoop and aluminum siding down both sides. The homeowner met us in the driveway with the question I hear […]
The Cost of Deferred Exterior Maintenance on a Newington Home
One spring we were called to a 1960s ranch in Newington. The homeowners were thinking about selling in a year or so, and a deck board had gone soft under one of them. They told me the house had not been washed in “quite a few years.” The roof had dark streaks on the north […]
Why Central Connecticut Homes Need More Frequent House Washing Than Coastal Ones
Last spring I pulled into a driveway in Newington for a return visit. Before I was out of the truck, I could see what had come back first. A light green film on the shaded side, a yellow haze of pollen along the gutters, and a deck starting to go gray again. The homeowner met […]
How Connecticut’s Spring Pollen Season Drives Wash Demand
Most years I can tell you the week the yellow shows up without checking a calendar. I walk out to the truck in the morning, and the hood has a fine coat of it. The wiper blades have little yellow lines in the creases. That is when the phone changes. The question becomes “Can you […]
The Effect of Newington’s Tree Canopy on North-Facing Siding
North-facing siding under a big tree is the wall we get asked about most in Newington. A while back I walked one with the homeowner before a wash. The front looked fine, and the south side looked almost new. Then we turned the corner. The north side sat under a large shade tree, and the […]
How New England Freeze-Thaw Cycles Destroy Untreated Concrete
Last spring a homeowner in Newington called us about the driveway. The snow was gone, the slab looked gray and stained, and they wanted “just a wash.” When I walked it, I noticed something else first. Right where the car parks by the garage, the top of the concrete was lifting in thin flakes. That […]
Why Road Salt From the Berlin Turnpike Reaches Nearby Newington Homes
One spring we washed a cape a couple of streets off the Berlin Turnpike in Newington. The homeowner called because the house “looked dingy” and the front windows stayed smeared no matter how often they were wiped. Walking around it, I saw two different houses. The road facing side wore a dull gray film, and […]
Why Connecticut’s Humid Continental Climate Breeds Roof and Siding Algae
We pulled into a driveway in Newington early one morning in late summer, and the roof was wet. It had not rained overnight. The homeowner came out and pointed at the dark streaks running down from the ridge, then at the green film on the north wall. “Is that dirt, or is my roof going?” […]
What to Do When a Newington Home Inspection Flags Roof Algae
The call came in on a weekday morning. A seller had just received the buyer’s repair request after a Newington home inspection, and one line in the report mentioned algae staining on the north slope of the roof. The inspector recommended cleaning and a look from a roofing contractor. The first question was the one […]